1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic rotating armature relay with a base body consisting of insulating material and carrying an excitation coil and in which contact terminal elements are anchored and on which an armature is rotatably seated, being approximately centrally seated, whereby the armature exhibits at least one elongated, ferromagnetic bar whose free ends form working air gaps with the pole ends of a coil core and which carries a covering of insulating material in its central area which contains bearing elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A rotating armature relay of this type is known, for example, from the German OS No. 27 23 430 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,362). Depending upon the specific design of the magnetic circuit and of the armature, with or without permanent magnets, this relay can function non-polarized or polarized, monostably or bistably. Such rotating armature relays are generally relatively sensitive given low response power and are also largely insensitive to jolts because of the central armature bearing. Given the known relays of this type, the actuation of the contacts ensues by means of actuation members which are either directly or indirectly connected to the armature and which influence the movable contact springs which are in turn anchored in the base body together with the stationary cooperating contact elements. The friction of the armature in its bearing and, in particular, the friction between the actuation member slide and the movable contact springs can not be overlooked in its effect on the operation of the relay. The actuation members normally consist of insulating material, and the abrasion from the friction between the actuation members and the contact springs can represent a hazard to the contact surfaces.
It would be desirable therefore, to provide a relay mechanism with reduced friction between the movable contact springs and the associated actuation member. Low-voltage relays generally have very low breaking capacity, however, a certain friction at the contact locations is definitely desired in order to damp contact impacts and in order to avoid the occurrence of foreign layers on the contact surfaces. Given heavy current relays, current spike formation is thereby largely prevented given a dc load.